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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29949099">Love Thy Neighbour</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/GideonGraystairs/pseuds/GideonGraystairs'>GideonGraystairs</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shadowhunters (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, First Dates, First Meetings, Fluff, Getting Together, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Misunderstandings, Parent Magnus Bane, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Police Officer Alec Lightwood</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 00:33:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,732</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29949099</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/GideonGraystairs/pseuds/GideonGraystairs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Alec meets his new neighbours. And completely misreads the situation. It works out okay.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>100</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Shadowhunters Fic Crawl 2021</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Love Thy Neighbour</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I thought we were past this,” she tells him on the drive home. The city is too quiet. The streetlights are as bright as ever, but they’re the only car around to see them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So did I,” Alec tells his mother. Her eyes are still focused on the road and they don’t move. </span>
  <em>
    <span>So did I</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The world ended when Alec was fifteen. He can still remember it, the exact moment he realized it was over. One minute, he was playing video games with his best friend and the next, he was curled up on the bathroom floor, staring at the bathtub, praying he was wrong. He did a lot of praying in those days. It didn’t change a thing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She stops in front of his apartment building. It feels like it means something, that she doesn’t pull into the parking lot, but Alec is too tired to read into whatever she’s trying to say. He undoes his seatbelt, pauses with his hand on the door in case she wants to say something. A goodbye, maybe. She doesn’t.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s gone by the time he’s made it to the door. He stares down the street for a second, then takes one long, deep breath. The air is cleaner here, closer to the suburbs than the heart of the city. It’s worth the extra twenty minutes it takes to get to the precinct.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His footsteps echo all the way up the stairwell, loud enough he hopes he doesn’t wake anyone else in the building. There’s a newborn on the floor below his and three dogs on the way there, and right now all of them are blissfully silent.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This is why it takes him by such surprise to find a little girl there, in the middle of the hallway. Just… standing there, staring at the wall between Alec’s door and his neighbour’s. He’s never seen her before, but then again his neighbour only moved in two days ago, and he’s been on shift or enduring an excruciating dinner with his parents ever since. She must be theirs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’s just started walking towards her, prepared with the list of questions he always has for unaccompanied minors, thankful for his training, when his neighbour’s door flies open.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Madzie</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” an exasperated voice sounds throughout the hallway. Tan arms sweep the little girl up, holding her out to meet a stern expression. “You nearly gave us a heart attack. You can’t just run off like that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The girl — Madzie — doesn’t respond, but she turns her head to look at Alec. Alec blinks back at her in surprise, and then at the man holding her, who narrows his eyes in scrutiny. He pulls Madzie closer to himself. “Who are you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh,” Alec casts his gaze around, waving a hand haphazardly at the door to his apartment. He pushes it back into his pocket a second later. “I live here. I was just getting home.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man frowns at him. It feels like a judgment. “At 2 AM?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alec frowns back at him. “Why does that matter?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It doesn’t.” The man purses his lips, shaking his head. He shifts Madzie on his hip. “Well, goodnight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The door slams behind him. Alec stares after it, raising an eyebrow. He shakes it off and rakes a hand through his hair, taking another long, deep breath. He closes his eyes, turns his head up to the ceiling, opens them again. Then, he makes his way to his own apartment, ready to shower and get three hours of sleep before he has to go to work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The shift was one of those ones that dragged on forever. An endless sea of filing reports and going through witness statements for petty crimes. He volunteers for traffic patrol after lunch just to escape the monotony and then spends a few hours sitting in his patrol car with a grumpy partner and a speed meter, issuing tickets to angry drivers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Most days, Alec’s job is thankless and unfulfilling. But the days that it isn’t make up for all the others.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He gets home at a respectable six o’clock, tugging his shirt out of the waistband of his pants as he climbs the stairs. He has to scrub his eyes every few steps to bring the world back into focus, and his feet feel like lead. The exhaustion he’s fought all day has nothing to hold it back now. All he can think about is how nice his mattress will feel, or even his couch. He’s not picky.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He doesn’t make it that far. He’s just putting his key into the lock when the door beside him swings open and his unfriendly neighbour from the night before steps out. He freezes when he sees Alec, then finishes straightening out his coat. He puts his hands in his pockets, looking Alec up and down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re a cop?” he asks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes?” Alec answers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man bites his lip, looks at the wall behind them, then back to Alec. “Well that explains the sketchy hours you keep. Sorry about last night.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alec shrugs, letting go of his key in the doorknob. “It’s fine…?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Magnus,” he offers. He extends a hand for Alec to shake. “And I swear I watch her. I’m a good parent. Madzie just likes to run off sometimes, and she’s very good at sneaking out.” When he catches the concerned expression on Alec’s face, he hurries to add, “She never goes far.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” Alec pauses. They stand in awkward silence for a second. “I’m Alec, by the way. I’m not gonna, like, report you for losing your kid for a minute, if that’s what you’re worried about. I’m sure you’re a good parent. Cute kid, by the way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She is,” Magnus agrees. He looks down at the floor for a second, pensive, then sighs. “She’s not mine. We’ve been fostering her for a few months now. Honestly, I think she just runs off to see if we’ll come looking for her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” Alec frowns. He crosses his arms across his chest, unsure what else to do with them, and looks at his door. His keys are still hanging out of the lock. “Well, I’ll keep an eye out for you then. Have a good night.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He offers a polite smile and then escapes into his apartment, closing the door behind him. As soon as he sees his couch, he tosses his keys on the counter and his duffle bag on the floor and makes a beeline for it. The bed is too far, after all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He doesn’t put much thought into his neighbour. He doesn’t have the time before his eyes are closing and he’s knocked out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He does put more thought into it the next day, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel of his patrol car while his partner grabs them coffee. His temporary partner, rather. Underhill still has two more weeks before there’s even a chance he’ll be cleared for duty, and even then he’ll probably be on light desk work for a month. Taking a bullet to the chest tends to put one out for a while.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So here Alec is, waiting for Raj to no doubt mess up his coffee order (probably on purpose), staring at the fire hydrant and wondering if he was rude yesterday for escaping the conversation. He was worn out and having trouble finding words through his exhaustion, but maybe he just came off like an asshole.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Magnus had certainly been much less of an asshole than that first night, though Alec doesn’t blame him for being defensive of his kid when finding her alone in a hallway with some strange man. His heart aches a little for Madzie, for whatever life she came from that has her testing the limits of others’ affection. It’s a familiar ache, and it’s part of why he takes his job so seriously. He’s seen too many kids like her, worse than her. Kids who never got out, or who got out too late.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s lucky, he thinks. Magnus seems like a good person and like he cares about her a lot. Maybe he doesn’t know him well enough to tell — even the worst people are good at putting on a show and fooling those around them — but Alec is usually pretty good at reading people. He has to be, for his job, but he was before that, too. If you spend long enough afraid of what everyone around you is thinking, you learn to figure it out before they tell you.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Magnus had said </span>
  <em>
    <span>we</span>
  </em>
  <span>, though. Alec didn’t see a ring, and he hasn’t seen anyone coming or going from their apartment, but that must mean he has a partner. Whoever it is, he’ll probably meet them soon enough. It’s a small building full of nosy people. Everyone knows everyone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The passenger door opens. “Got your coffee,” Raj announces, placing it in the cupholder. “Double double, just how you like it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Actually, Alec likes it black, maybe one cream just to cool it down. Raj knows that. Alec knows that Raj knows that. He rolls his eyes, but he does it with his head turned to the window as he pulls the car onto the road.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s three weeks later that Alec meets his neighbour’s elusive partner. There’s a patio of sorts on the roof of the building where the tenants go to hang out. It happens every weekend, sometimes on weekdays. If Alec isn’t going on shift, he’ll head up and have a beer or two, listen to Lydia moan about how little sleep they get with the baby and pat her on the shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That’s exactly what he’s doing when the door opens to let out a trio of newcomers. Magnus and Madzie and some woman he doesn’t recognize. Alec tries not to frown a little, but that really hadn’t been the impression he’d gotten from Magnus. That’ll teach him to make assumptions.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They’re looking around, kind of lost, clearly not knowing anyone and not sure where to start the introductions, until Magnus’s eyes land on Alec’s and he smiles. He tugs Madzie over by the hand, and his partner follows.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alec,” he greets. “And I don’t believe we’ve met.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lydia,” Lydia offers. She shakes his hand. “You just moved in next to Alec, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Magnus nods. “I’m Magnus, this is Catarina, and this is little Madzie.” He dissolves into an almost baby voice as he leans down a bit to grin at Madzie and poke her on the cheek. It’s unbearably adorable.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nice to meet you.” Lydia smiles. She’s much better at being friendly than Alec is, and he’s pretty sure she and John have been officially designated as the welcome wagon for the building. She was definitely the first friend Alec made here, and most of the others he only knows because she introduced them. “We’re on the floor below you, my husband and I. And our little one. He has a wonderfully developed set of lungs on him, so I hope you don’t mind his screeching at all hours of the day.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your husband or the baby?” Magnus asks, and they both laugh. He turns to Alec, sobering a little. There’s something unreadable in the way he looks him over and it’s discomfiting. Everyone is always readable to Alec. It’s what makes him so good at his job.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finally, Magnus nods at the beer in Alec’s hand. “Want to show me where I can get one of those?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alec makes a gesture to the cooler on the other side of the roof. When Magnus doesn’t move, he realizes that isn’t what he meant. He bites his lip and makes his way over himself, and Magnus follows.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So,” Magnus says as he’s picking his way through ice chips to find something he likes. Alec stands beside him, watching Catarina talk to Lydia. They look like they’re commiserating over something. “You didn’t tell me about these little get-togethers.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alec turns his attention back to Magnus just to frown at him. “We’ve talked, like, four times.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Magnus tsks. “And here I thought we were becoming friends.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alec snorts. He takes a sip of his beer. “Catarina seems nice. I haven’t seen her around.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She works at the hospital. Weird hours.” Magnus shrugs, cracking open his can. It makes a loud popping sound. “And yes, she’s great. No one I’d rather be raising a little hellion with. We’ve been best friends for… twelve years now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow,” Alec says at the same time he thinks it. His chest tightens ever so slightly at the idea of spending your life with your best friend. It’s the kind of relationship everyone dreams of, isn’t it? “It’s going well with Madzie, then?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A smile crosses Magnus’s face, the kind you get without even realizing it when you’re reminded of something you love. “Yeah,” he says softly, looking over where she’s sitting with the other kids. They’re playing some kind of game that Madzie doesn’t seem to be participating in, but she’s watching them aptly. “Actually, we’re thinking about adoption.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s great,” Alec says, and he means it. He smiles back at Magnus when he turns to look at him. “She’s lucky to have you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope so,” Magnus replies. He takes a drink. “And you? Don’t tell me you live alone in a place as big as this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um,” Alec laughs awkwardly. “Yeah, I do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Magnus makes a complicated expression and hums. “Are you seeing anyone?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No?” Alec replies, and then clears his throat. “No, no I’m not. Too busy and all, you know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Doing cop things, right,” Magnus agrees, but he has a teasing smile. “Must be lonely, though. I can’t imagine living alone. I’ve always had roommates.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t mind it,” Alec shrugs. “I have friends in the building, anyway, if I ever need someone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Magnus hums in agreement. There’s a pause in the conversation, as neither of them has anything to add, until Magnus raises his can to toast Alec’s bottle. “You can count me one of them, then.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alec laughs. “Thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You should come over sometime,” Magnus adds. “For dinner or something. I promise I’m a passable cook.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alec offers a breathy laugh and a half-smile. “I’ll have to judge that for myself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Magnus beams. “Great. Tuesday, then? Unless you’re working.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m free.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Seven? Full disclaimer, we’re vegetarian.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Seven’s fine,” Alec reassures him. “And I suppose that’s not a total deal-breaker.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Magnus laughs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tuesday comes before Alec knows it. He almost forgets about it, actually. Raj does something stupid on Monday, and they spend their whole shift accounting for it. Underhill comes in the next morning to talk to their captain, and he sticks around for a bit to sit at Alec’s desk and laugh at his misery while promising to come back and save him from it soon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There’s a breaking and entering in an upscale neighbourhood that afternoon, so he ends up working overtime taking witness statements and overseeing the evidence collection. By the time he gets home, he has an hour to both remember that he’s supposed to be making nice with the neighbours over dinner and get ready for said dinner.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His hair is still damp from the shower when he finds himself knocking on their door. It opens almost immediately.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alec! Come in, come in,” Magnus greets.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alec steps past him awkwardly. He offers him the wine bottle he’s been holding. “I don’t know what you drink, but I felt like I should bring something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Magnus blinks at him, but he takes the bottle to inspect it. After scanning the label, he nods approvingly. “Very nice. One of my favourites, actually. A man after my own heart.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alec blushes, then instantly feels stupid and tries to cover it by pretending to inspect the apartment. It’s nice, actually. A lot brighter and well-decorated than his. It’s clear someone put effort into the space, into making it beautiful and warm and homey. Alec’s apartment is just whatever furniture seemed most functional when he bought it and nicknacks scattered around on whatever surface they fit on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You have a very lovely home,” he says, both because it’s polite and because it’s true.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Magnus smiles at him from the kitchen where he’s uncorking the wine bottle. When he only pulls out two glasses, Alec frowns. It’s only then that he notices neither Catarina nor Madzie are anywhere to be found.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s just you tonight?” he asks, and tries not to sound judgmental or surprised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Magnus hands him a wine glass. “Madzie’s at a sleepover and Cat got called into the hospital.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” Alec says. He stares at the red wine, swirls it around a little bit just to watch it move. “We can do this some other time if you want. When you’re all free.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Magnus gets a strange expression on his face, but it quickly dissolves into a half laugh and a teasing smile. He waves a hand. “Nonsense. You’re already here, and I’ve already made dinner.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alec definitely feels like he’s missed something, but he also has absolutely no idea what it could be. He shakes it off, taking a drink, and decides that this is fine. He’s hung out with Lydia alone plenty of times when John was busy, and vice versa. Even though he thought he’d be getting to know all his neighbours, and especially Catarina — with whom he’s yet to have a single conversation — Magnus is good company.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Except, Alec really, really feels like he’s missing something the more the night goes on. Dinner looks like it took a lot of effort and it’s great, but it seems like a lot of trouble to go to. Maybe Magnus just really likes to cook. It feels odd, too, to be in Magnus’s home, drinking wine over a nice meal, without his girlfriend there. Not that it </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> odd because Magnus is clearly in a happy, committed relationship and probably straight, and also Alec isn’t thinking of him like that, anyway. Except.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Except, if he didn’t know any better, he might think he was being flirted with. And Magnus seems a little too curious about his dating life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you’re not seeing anyone,” Magnus says when they’ve finished eating and he’s poured them each another glass of wine. “Just got out of a relationship? Or not interested in one?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alec takes a careful sip of his wine. “My last real relationship was over two years ago, so it’s definitely not that. Not interested? I don’t know, I just haven’t met anyone, I guess.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm.” Magnus looks thoughtful. “How real was it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alec keeps his eyes on the glass, running his thumb up and down the stem. “Four years. Actually, it was kind of my </span>
  <em>
    <span>only</span>
  </em>
  <span> real relationship.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I find that hard to believe,” Magnus says, leaning forward. He props his elbow on the table and rests his chin on his hand. “A guy like you? You must get asked out all the time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alec doesn’t know what to do with that. He clears his throat and readjusts in his chair. “So, you and Cat. How did you meet?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Magnus frowns but accepts the change in subject. “We went to high school together. And then we both decided to go to college here, in New York, and we’ve lived together ever since.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alec nods. “How long have you been together?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Together?” Magnus raises a confused eyebrow at him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Romantically,” Alec clarifies.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” Magnus says, and then blinks a little bit. A somewhat strangled laugh escapes him, and he covers his mouth with his hand. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>. No, no. We’re not </span>
  <em>
    <span>together</span>
  </em>
  <span> together. Cat’s my best friend. Didn’t I mention that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, yeah,” Alec admits, frowning at the table. He’s completely thrown. “I just thought…” He shakes his head. “I thought you meant, like, you’re so lucky to have a partner who’s also your best friend.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Magnus laughs wholeheartedly now. He’s grinning when he looks at Alec, and Alec has to admit the misunderstanding is a bit funny. “Here I was, putting out feelers to see if you were interested, and this whole time you thought I was, what? Married?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Something like that,” Alec muttered, picking at his glass in embarrassment. And then the rest of Magnus’s words catch up to him and he does a full double-take, whipping his head back up to meet Magnus’s amused gaze. “You were doing what now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Putting out feelers,” Magnus repeats. He leans forwards, resting his arms on the table. He’s smirking a bit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alec stares at him. “So this is a date?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Magnus shrugs. “I mean, it didn’t start out that way. I still thought you were probably straight when I asked you to come over, but then Lydia told me you weren’t, and I thought that maybe I wasn’t reading into things, after all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Reading into…” Alec frowns. He stares at the table, trying to bring his brain back online. “Um, okay. That’s… All cleared up, I guess. The misunderstanding.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” Magnus laughs again. “And?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And what?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And is it a date or are we just two neighbours being friendly? Either is fine, I assure you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alec is silent for a long second, thinking. Shifting his thoughts around in his head to accommodate new information. Finally, he bites his lip. “I think if it’s going to be a date, I should probably know beforehand.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They hold each other’s eyes for a minute, until Magnus understands what he’s saying. A slow smile spreads across his face. “Not a date, then. But tomorrow night?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alec smiles back. “Yeah,” he agrees. “Tomorrow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tomorrow, he can hear Cat laughing from behind the door while he waits for Magnus. His heart’s in his throat, pounding. It’s been a long time since he’s done this. But, fuck it, he thinks, they’ve pretty much already done this, and if he survived the embarrassment of last night, this should be easy. And tonight he can appreciate that Magnus is actually stupidly attractive without feeling guilty about his girlfriend.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He can feel guilty about other things. Making assumptions, certainly. His parents, like he does every time he goes out with someone. Underhill, who’s covering his shift and is in a car somewhere suffering through Raj’s incessant snarky comments. That ineffable guilt he’s been feeling since he was fifteen, that’s never stopped in all the years since.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But, </span>
  <em>
    <span>God</span>
  </em>
  <span>, is Magnus stupidly attractive and, </span>
  <em>
    <span>God</span>
  </em>
  <span>, is Alec going to appreciate it.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! This is far from what I normally write and I was practicing over-coming writer's block via the 'stop being a perfectionist and just write shit no matter how stupid', so it's a bit rough around the edges, but I think it turned out okay. <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/thirteen_echoes">thirteen-echoes</a> helped to clean it up with a wonderful beta read &lt;3 I hope you enjoyed it x</p></blockquote></div></div>
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